John Devine: Can any Major League Baseball player be trusted again? Can anyone be trusted again?

So why even discuss it? I mean, what can I tell you that you haven't already read?

Yet, we gravitate toward the negative as this black cloud still hangs over America's pastime, with more news coming down the turnpike.

We still have players cheating the game. Once again, it's put the sport to the forefront for the wrong reasons.

What made us believe that this was coming to an end? How can we be surprised? And who is next?

Steroids have damaged the sport's reputation. Duh.

But is it beyond repair?

Should we trust any major league baseball player?

Ryan Braun is asking for forgiveness for what he claims is a mistake.

Are you sorry for lying to baseball fans about your alleged use of PEDs? Or are you raising the white flag because you got caught?

I'm sorry.

A 65-game suspension isn't enough. It should have been a full season. Braun should be stripped of his 2011 MVP award. He didn't earn it. He cheated.

Braun didn't man up. The Brewers are terrible. And he's injured. Who knows if he was going to return this season.

That being said, he let his teammates and the fans in Milwaukee down. The Brewers still owe him $110 million. You can't eat that.

So who is next?

Alex Rodriguez is believed to be one of 22 players on that list. He was supposed to rejoin the Yankees after the All-Star break. But didn't. Hmm.

This alleged list was a hot topic during the All-Star break, especially since it was reported that three All-Star players are supposedly on this list.

So why did Major League Baseball allow them to play in the All-Star game if more suspensions are about to come down?

Didn't the sport learn anything from last year when former Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera was suspended for 50 games shortly after he won MVP honors at the All-Star game?

Cabrera had tested positive for an illegal substance before the All-Star game. Yet, he appealed it and played in the Midsummer Classic.

His performance helped the National League win the game, which gave home-field advantage to the Giants in the World Series.

So yeah, it did matter.

Cabrera didn't play the rest of the year. The Giants elected not to bring him back for the playoffs. But he still got a World Series ring and a two-year, $14-million deal with the Blue Jays.

Steroids have changed the perception of how we view the game and the players.

We don't know who is cheating. But you know Braun isn't alone.

There is a reason Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens — arguably two of the greatest players to play their positions — received little support in their first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame.

And it's not going to change. I wouldn't vote for them.

The question is who will become a Hall of Famer over the next 10 years? Because no one got in last year. And it might have been the greatest list in terms of production from a group of players.

Some of you don't care.

But the players of today do. The ones that are not cheating are fed up with the allegations that have tainted the game.

During the All-Star festivities in New York last week, you could hear it in their voices and see it in their expressions. Players are tired of having to answer questions about others.

Of course, a lot of this could have been avoided if baseball hadn't turned a blind eye when Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire chased down Roger Maris' hallowed single-season home run record while looking like oversized Michelin Men.

Baseball was still reeling from canceling the 1994 World Series in a labor dispute. Yes, this goes back 20 years. The home run chase brought the sport back to the forefront.

So when Jose Canseco spoke out about the rapid use of steroids, the league blackballed him.

Major League Baseball is trying to clean up the mess it created. Remember, steroids are illegal.

You know how to clean it up?

Harsher penalties. First offense is a lost season. Second offense is a lifetime ban. Teams should be allowed to cut a player without having to pay him another cent if he's caught cheating.

Try making $15 million a season in the real world.

I guess Braun was right when he told the world last year that the truth always prevails.

John Devine can be reached at 646-4405 and jdevine@montereyherald.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnjdevine. Just a Thought will return on Aug. 17.